CW Music Picks: Dec. 29-31 

Thursday Dec. 29

EVE
By the numbers, this is how EVE breaks down: 229 musicians, 2012 beach balls, 2,880 minutes of live music, one reggae festival, 11 consonants in “Reggae Snowsplash,” one hip-hop festival, one Temple of Boom and three beavers. Wait, beavers? Oh, never mind that—this year’s musical lineup is bombastic, to say the least. The Temple of Boom—a built-for- Burning-Man, Mayan-esque temple cum art/ music installation that stands 40 feet tall and shoots fire 30 feet into the air—will provide the low ends and break beats for the utmost danceability over the course of the three-day celebration: Thursday will host Illoom and EOTO, Friday will have Sugarpill and Stephan Jacobs, and Saturday will see Life and Muscle Hawk, among others. The Salt Palace stage will host reggae on Thursday, with Afro Omega, 2 1/2 White Guys and Natural Roots, among others; hip-hop takes the stage late Friday, with Burnell Washburn, followed by the Uprok afterparty; then, on Saturday, a bevy of local rockers helps bring in the new year, including 2011 City Weekly Music Awards winner King Niko, playing from 11 p.m. until the ball drops. For a full lineup, visit EVESLC.com/schedule. Through 12.31, Salt Palace Convention Center, 100 S. West Temple, times vary, $15 for three-day pass

F.N.Y.E Industry Night
Is it worth the fat pocketful of cash for servers and bartenders to baby-sit the debaucherizing drunks until—and well after—the disco ball drops on the old year? Well, it probably depends on where you work—it never was for me as a drink slinger. But, either way, Bar Deluxe feels your pain—if you work in the industry—on this Faux New Year’s Eve Night. This could be a special night for the folks who won’t be celebrating New Year’s Eve—or for people who just can’t get enough. Local rockers The Samuel Smith Band, Small Town Sinners and Charles Ellsworth will be kickin’ it faux-style before the big, crazy eve. Bar Deluxe, 666 S. State, 9 p.m., free

Saturday Dec. 31

Heartless Bastards
With a bevy of DJ dance parties and local acts playing about town tonight, it’s nice to know that when the fellas at The State Room were booking this gig, they had in mind the rest of the party crowd—the ones who just want to hear some big ol’ rock & roll to blast away last year. What better band than the blues-rock outfit Heartless Bastards? Led by steel-piped lead singer Erika Wennerstrom, this scorching quartet is sure to light up the passage into the new year with two full sets. Heartless Bastards are currently taking a break from touring in anticipation of their energetic upcoming album Arrow, due Feb. 14. But they’re making a special jaunt back to SLC, where they have consistently sold out shows of late. The evening will be rounded out with grub from Este Pizza, raffle drawings and a Champagne toast at midnight, along with openers Holy Water Buffalo. The State Room, 638 S. State, 9 p.m., $40

A Roaring Twenties Celebration
Bar-X and The Red Door are teaming up for a classy New Year’s Eve party designed to take guests back in time. All are encouraged to wear clothes fitting for the Roaring Twenties, and both bars will have special, one-night-only cocktails on the menu, as well as some sexy, jazzy tunes courtesy of DJs and live performers. As a bonus, there will be free transportation between the two bars, so you can pay one cover charge and do a little bar-hopping at the same time. There will be a midnight Champagne toast at both joints. Bar-X, 155 E. 200 South; The Red Door, 57 W. 200 South, 7 p.m., $20

Legends 2012
Here’s a party that is being advertised with this phrase: “It’s the dawn of a new time, a time of change.” I’m not quite sure, especially with the addition of implicit references to the Mayan calendar—and the end of the ancient civilization’s calendar—if that is a quality reason to just get plain bonkers on this holiday or not. Either way, the list of DJs at this annual event is always impressive. This year they have Feed Me—who is on the Mau5trap label—joined by Calvertron, Mark Yurm, Rokcity, Fu Ju and Dipsy, all of whom are expert in the art of bass dropping to make butts wiggle. Not enough? This DJ-induced event will have a state-of-theart 3-D visual show to get folks’ minds off of the apocalypse and onto more engaging, temporal things. The Complex, 536 W. 100 South, 7 p.m., $25-$35 in advance, $40 day of show

Countdown Getdown
This New Year’s Eve bazaar is the brainchild of musician and Salt Lake City native Erin Barra. “What I’m trying to do is bring this great party atmosphere that I’ve been entrenched in in New York City. It’s a classy, grown-up type of rave,” she says. An ecstatic free-for-all, the event will be DJed by spinning stalwart Jesse Walker, and folks will get their dancing (and cheap drink) on. Dancers and partygoers will be surrounded by bliss: trapeze performers hanging from the walls, body-painted beauties prancing about, an art installation and more, all capstoned by a Champagne toast at midnight. Bar Deluxe, 666 S. State, 9 p.m., $20 in advance, $25 day of show

Laserfang
One of the best live acts in town is continually oscillating between on-again and off-again (Sound like your New Year’s resolutions?). But they are most decidedly back on, and have been since Shane Asbridge moved back to town in October. This time in 2010, the band released their first album to rave reviews, and it still jams. Word is that they’re going to start working on the new material soon. Aside from busting out some new cuts in the first new hours of the new year, this show should be one crazy dance party, filled with equal parts glitter, glam and sweat. Night Sweats will help set the night on fire with an opening set. The Urban Lounge, 241 S. 500 East, 9 p.m., $6

Little Big Town
The gorgeous four-part harmonies that this Alabama-originated country act puts together seem surreal in how articulate and perfectly balanced they are. With two lovely ladies and two gentlemen, who all take turns on lead vocals, their tunes are a fine showcase of Southern charm and debutante showiness. The band balances out Nashville styling with some pop-rock, as heard on their four albums released to date. Their latest, the 2010 album The Reason Why, peaked at Numero Uno on the Billboard Country Music Chart. With tunes like “Little White Church,” “Kiss Goodbye” and “The Reason Why,” it’s no surprise how. Eccles Center for the Performing Arts, 1750 Kearns Blvd., Park City, 8 p.m., $25-$150

Coming Up
He’s My Brother, She’s My Sister (Sidecar Bar, Park City, Jan. 8), Maceo Parker (The State Room, Jan. 8), Devon Allman’s Honeytribe (The State Room, Jan. 11), Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit (The State Room, Jan 12), Satisfaction: A Rolling Stones Tribute (Egyptian Theatre, Park City, Jan. 12-14), A Lull (Kilby Court, Jan. 14)